Something I noticed on one of the replays of a second half Foster run was the way he was flailing his arm around in traffic .... only the hand and forearm making contact with the ball ..... It reminded me a whole lot of Jacoby Jones during his couple seasons ..... an accident waiting to happen.

They both need to go watch film of Tiki Barber as he changed from a fumbling machine to a VERY reliable carrier. I was a running back (not a very good one) and I can tell you from experience that you naturally tend to swing the ball out from your body. SEEMS to help with balance and to me seemed to help with my speed (heaven knows I needed all the help there I could get), but I think it is just a matter of gaining confidence in tucking it up tight to your chest in the crook of your arm. These guys can do it. I just hope they can get it done and confidence in it quickly. Nothing will bounce you from the playoffs faster than turn overs.

I've been saying this on the other MB for awhile....Foster swings the ball away from his body way too much, just asking for the ball to be knocked out, especially from behind. The bit*h of it is, he looked like he had a good hold on the ball when it was knocked out today in the first drive.

His sophomore season of 2006 saw a slight downturn in production, as Foster was limited for the majority of the season with injuries and missed games against Marshall and Memphis. Splitting time with LaMarcus Coker after returning from injury, Foster ended the season with just 322 rushing yards.[9] Tennessee's final game of the season was the 2007 Outback Bowl, in which Foster fumbled with ten minutes remaining deep in Penn State territory.[10] The ball was picked up by cornerback Tony Davis and returned 88 yards for a touchdown, breaking a 10-10 tie and providing the winning points in Penn State's 20-10 victory.

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His junior season of 2007 saw Foster take over as the main back, with Montario Hardesty coming in as a substitute. Against Florida, Foster fumbled a left-handed hand-off from injured quarterback Erik Ainge which was recovered by Gators linebacker Dustin Doe and returned eighteen yards for a touchdown.[12] Up to that point Tennessee had been gaining momentum and pulled to within eight points of tying the game, but the botched play made the score 35-20 and triggered a 24-point Florida run to close out the contest.

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Foster, who needs 422 yards to become Tennessee's all-time career rushing leader, was involved in a fumble at the goal line against Auburn where he didn't get the handoff cleanly from Crompton. The Tigers recovered for one of their two touchdowns.

Foster spent the second half of the Auburn game as the third-down back, and Hardesty was used as more of the feature back. Foster has been plagued by several costly fumbles during his career at Tennessee.

I'm not the most athletic guy, so maybe someone that is can shed some light. Don't you move faster when you allow your arms to move a bit? You don't see sprinters in the Olympics running with their arms stiff against their bodies. I bet it likely aides in balance as well.

I would imagine Foster would likely lose some of explosiveness if he was forcing himself to run in a way that was unnatural to him. A better bet would be to put an emphasis in recognizing when he can have the ball slightly out to facilitate movement, and when he needs to tuck it in tight. And work on transitioning from one to the other efficiently and quickly.

I haven't looked at his previous fumbles much, but the one against the Panthers seemed like it was just excellent defensive plays. I don't think it had anything to do with him not having a good enough grip on the ball.

I kinda give Foster the freedom to do whatever he wants. He for the most part takes care of the ball, and does some amazing stuff with the rock in his hands. Yes he has fumbled a few times this year, but his positive plays far and away outweigh them.

I knew of another running back that would hold the ball like a loaf of bread, too. He turned out pretty good.

The guy above had 17 fumbles in his first two seasons and was pretty dern good!! Arian Foster in basically two season has had 8. I'm not too worried about how he carries the ball.

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Love it! Repped.

I'd rather he do it now, get pissed at himself for it and stop it in the future. In the press conference after the game he said he had 3 lost fumbles last year, 3 so far this year, so he believes that it's done for the year. Doesn't want to disappoint the team anymore.

The way he carries the ball is part of his fluidity. It provides a lot of production, and each fumble is the price he must pay for it.

And I doubt it can be changed. The way Foster moves is a full-body coordination, like a dancer. It he tucks in the ball, you won't see the unconscious body control and nuance that makes him so successful.

Well this thread certainly took an unexpected turn. I'm sort of surprised to see so many posters shrugging off poor ball carrying technique.

I certainly hope, for Arian's sake, we don't lose a playoff game because of a fumble.

And for the record, just because some of the great running backs in NFL history were prolific yard gainers, that doesn't excuse carrying the ball like a loaf of bread. Some of the great ones also had a reputation for fumbling.

Walter Payton is second on the list of running backs in NFL history for fumbles with 86.

INDIANAPOLIS  Eric Dickerson's fumble gave the Houston Oilers another chance, and Tony Zendejas atoned for two earlier misses with a 35-yard field goal in overtime to beat the Indianapolis Colts, 17-14, Sunday.